Last Registration

I'm supposed to register in 4.5 hours. Woo-hoo.

The way it looks, I'll just have class on Tuesday and Thursday. Something like 9:30 to 3:00. That also includes 1.5 hours for lunch. Not bad at all. But that's if I get my undergrad research class. I like writing, and I don't mind learning about new topics. The only thing is that I have to find a professor who is willing to advise my research. I've been trying to think of various topics that I'm interested in.

I wouldn't mind looking further into security issues that are present in today's technology. I'm also curious about how students with no prior programming experience visualize the course material in computer science classes.

I recently took a course titled Information Assurance and Security. In this class, we learned about different forms of attacks that hackers can use. We also analyzed communication methods and protocols. I did read a bit of the assigned book, and I was fascinated by some of the topics we discussed in class. This is why I wouldn't mind doing further research in this area.

But, I'm also curious about visualized programming. I didn't start programming until I arrived at UT. We were forced to learn assembly for a special processor the professor created. Over the next courses, we learned about C and C++. These programming languages allow the coder to write very specific instructions. You can manipulate the address of data and individual bits with ease. So, when I started to code in C++, I didn't see boxes or anything like that. I saw one task and divided it into smaller tasks. Then I divided those again into even smaller tasks. Eventually, I had one line for each operation.

With Java, you focus on the object and adapt it to your needs. If you need something to represent a container of water, it's one attribute. If you also need it to know the temperature, that's one more attribute. So, when I have to code something in Java, I see the object in my head. I see a shape, labels, and compartments.

So, if you jump into some course similar to an intro class, what do you see that helps you? Do you draw it out? Do you create a flow chart? And if you look at someone else's code, how do you interpret it?

Kind of nerdy, I know.

But it is the last time I have to register. Makes me happy.